HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING: Long Beach Poly eager to make most of rare opportunity

The Poly wrestling team, for the first time in recent memory, is favored to win the Moore League thanks to the return of eight starters, including six individual league title holders, and the graduation of key members of the reigning league champions at Millikan.

Senior AJ McKee (128 pounds) was one win from placing at state last year and will be the league's premier wrestler this season.

McKee (45-7) matured greatly last season, is a two-time CIF placer and could very likely place at state.

"My team goal is to win that CIF ring that we lost last season and individually, I'd like to place top three at the least," McKee said.

The Price brothers will have to catch up with the rest of the lineup after they're done playing in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division football championship game.

"This could well be our first year to win the Moore League in 24 years and only our second time in school history," Poly coach Bart Roper said. "We set a Moore League record last year with 10 individual champions and we hope to break it again this year. We feel good about what we have here, but until someone beats Millikan, they're still the champions."

Over at Millikan, the defending champion might be in a rebuilding year by most standards, but anyone who knows legendary Rams coach Marshall Thompson knows the veteran arguably gets more out of his wrestlers year in and year out than anyone in the area.

"We do not have any returning Moore League champs or CIF placers, but we have a lot of hard-working kids," Thompson said. "I hope as the season gets under way we will see some of them step up and compete with the best. We will have to wait and see.

"Poly is the team to beat because they return a lot of league champions."

Merelle and his fellow returning teammates acknowledge they are the underdog, but won't give up their Moore League title without a fight.

"I believe we have a tough team because we have a lot of wrestlers coming back who were injured last season and are eager to show what they can do," Merelle said. "We have a great coaching staff and tons of hard-working wrestlers who have been training hard all preseason and even in the offseason."

Lakewood is coming off a less than stellar 2011-12 season, but the Lancers finally have stability within their coaching staff as Randy Gonzalez takes over a once-proud program.

Lakewood had no league champions or CIF placers last year, but Gonzalez said his Lancers will be competitive and area coaches believe he has what it takes to turn around the program.

Matthew Tsunawaki (130) and Elijah Brown (160) finished second in league and are back, as is 225-pound Pedro Narez.

Wilson lost 18 seniors to graduation, but Wegter's program always gives its Moore League foes everything it can handle, even when undermanned.

"We have the potential to do really well this year, but we are very young," Wegter said. "Poly should be tough, Millikan always brings its best and it seems like Lakewood is going through a transition, but I am confident we will be incredibly competitive."